Meet Astrid…

Having driven to Hertfordshire and back just over 2 weeks ago to pick her up during the blistering heat (at which time our car air con decided to quit, and we ended up hiring a car so as not to melt ourselves on the journey) Astrid has quickly become the centre of attention in our family, and has secured her place as the happiest, spottiest little ball of mischief we could ever have wished for – and Felix and I (plus all our friends and family who have met her so far) can’t get enough of her!

In such a short amount of time, this lil fluffer has brought us so much joy, and even though it hasn’t been a walk in the park (which I mean literally, considering she hasn’t had all her injections and has still got another 4 weeks until she can actually have walkies!), and having a puppy is a lot of hard work, but we wouldn’t change her for the world. Many people have compared having a puppy to having a baby – which really makes sense when you think about it; and although I can’t comment on the former from experience, I can imagine that life being a continuous round of being woken up early, stopping them from hurting themselves and eating everything they can get their hands (or paws) on, and cleaning up poop, really is similar for both.

We have been very lucky with Astrid; she sleeps through until 4am at the earliest every night – although this was originally a consistent 5.30am, so I hope she’s not going in the wrong direction! But we are still both very tired dog parents, and spend most of our evenings attempting to relax on the sofa without an interruption in the form of an excited fluffer trying to muscle in on the cuddles with some knife-like puppy teeth… And trust me when I say I leave out most of the less glamorous aspects of living with a puppy from Instagram for a very valid reason!

There are also moments when she won’t stop stealing tea towels or biting the chair legs and I feel like I’m on the verge of a mental breakdown… We won’t focus too much on those! But, it’s also a really lovely thing to see your little bundle of fluff begin to build a bond with you, learn commands and come to you for comfort. And those moments that really make the whole thing so rewarding.

As I write this, Astrid is currently snoozing happily on her bed, toy monkey hanging out of her mouth from the end of playtime. But I know if I make even the slightest move to get up, she’ll magically wake up and trot with me to wherever I’m going. Or maybe she’ll go and try to eat the skirting board again… Le sigh.

Do you have any puppy tips I should know? Please do leave me a message, as I’m still learning how to be the best puppy momma I can be!